Gewurztraminer Pfalz

Gewurztraminer Pfalz

This wine is not grown in enough areas in this country, especially considering the spectacular results of the efforts of a handful of vintners in California's Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley and Santa Barbara County. Its roots can be traced to Northern Italy's Traminer, although is grown successfully as Gewurtztraminer (Gewurz means spicy) in Austria, Germany, Alsace and elsewhere. It is rich, full-bodied and powerful, with ripe pears, tropical fruits and reminiscent of lychee nuts. At its best it is perfumed with floral qualities, like roses, and potently spicy, especially in the aroma. The beautiful German wine region of Pfalz is the second largest in the country, and a region recognized for its astonishing variety and the quality of its produce. With around 25,000 hectares of land in Pfalz under vine, the region produces an impressive amount of wine, considering the fact that the majority of wineries in the region are independent, small and traditionally run. The vineyards of Pfalz benefit enormously from their relatively warm, dry and sunny climate – exceedingly similar to that of nearby Alsace – and the high quality, mineral rich soils that typify the region. Although grapes have been cultivated in the Pfalz region since time immemorial, it was the Romans who first built up the wine region in the first century, introducing many grape varietals which can still be found growing there to this day.